One Year Later

12 | Love Languages

"She's supposed to be one of the waitresses," he laughed. "I told Togami-kun that she needed the money. Guess she got distracted. I-It's not like you can blame her! He really outdid himself."

"...I just want to know who suggested the bouncy castle."

"Th-That... would be me, actually." Sayaka raised a shy hand. Kiyotaka frowned at her.

"You!" He suddenly didn't care about the bouncy castle anymore. "Why haven't you been answering your phone?! I've been trying to get ahold of you all morning!"

"Sorry, sorry! I was busy planning... all of this. I had to be here early to set things up. You'll see." She winked. Kiyotaka couldn't imagine what more they intended to give him. Wasn't this enough? He hadn't even seen Mondo and whatever he had prepared yet.

Speaking of which— Kiyotaka tried to scan the room, but it was hard to do so past the variety of talking heads that obscured his line of sight. Since when was Nagito that tall? Was it just the hair? Hagakure certainly wasn't helping matters. He cleared his throat.

"I-I don't mean to seem as though I'm shrugging you all off, and I do appreciate your continued kindness, and your attendance, but—"

"Looking for somebody specific, are we?" Mahiru teased. She already had her camera out in preparation for whatever was to come. Kiyotaka nodded.

"Of course. ...I don't see him anywhere."

"'Course not. That's 'cuz he's in the lot out back, by the gardens." Fuyuhiko gestured over his own shoulder with one thumb. "Couldn't fit his present in here, so we had to do what we had to do."

"Couldn't fit? What on earth has he done?!"

"Don't get all bent outta shape!" Fuyuhiko clicked his tongue before he redirected his furor at the crowd. "Alright, alright— everybody outta the way! Quit hounding him! We've got places to be!"

With that, Fuyuhiko was dragging Kiyotaka along by his wrist. Peko followed them like a sheepdog parting a flock. Also trailing behind were Naegi, Asahina, Gundham, Mahiru, and Togami, for some reason. Sakura seemed to want to follow them at first, but was distracted by Akane's demands that they spar one another. She gave them all an apologetic nod before she begrudgingly accepted the challenge. Kirigiri apparently intended to supervise the others in Togami's absence.

As they marched, Kiyotaka wondered what on earth Mondo was hiding out there. Sure, Kiyotaka had gone a bit overboard in acquiring his own present (Kiyotaka eventually retrieved his wrist from Fuyuhiko so that he could hold the box carefully once more), but it hadn't cost him much by way of money. If Mondo had gone and done something reckless like spending his whole stipend to buy Kiyotaka a car, he would have no choice but to scold him like any responsible boyfriend would.

"Your prince awaits," Fuyuhiko droned sarcastically as he kicked the back door open.

Kiyotaka was hit with a burst of cool air. He could vaguely see the shape of the man he loved so dearly, and behind him something large and covered in a bulky sheet that concealed the shape of it, rendering it a formless mass of red. He took a tentative step forward. And then another.

"...Hey."

That was all he said when Kiyotaka stood, at last, in front of him. He felt like they hadn't seen one another in ages, somehow. Mondo grinned that devilish grin of his.

He looked... different. A good different.

Kiyotaka did find Mondo very handsome as he was. He always had, even when he'd sported a rather ridiculous hairstyle. But it wasn't often that he got to see him "dressed up", as it were. He was certain that Mondo hadn't picked out his own clothes— they matched entirely too well for that to be the case— but still.